Main Door is The Fire Exit and was Broken All Weekend

[JPCooling]

Hi, so I live in a building that has five flats in it. There is only one entrance/exit which is the main door on the ground floor.

The other weekend this door, which is also the fire exit, broke and all residents were either stuck inside or outside for two days. There was no emergency number to contact the letting agency or landlords. They didn't even check emergency Tweets. They didn't respond at all until Monday. I believe the door was fixed Tuesday.

We were completely trapped. There are no windows big enough for an adult to climb out of. The flat doors, however are 'fire doors' designed to keep fire within the flat (I think).

Fortunately a guy living there knew a fireman and he came to remove the lock on day 2. 

 

Is this a legal set up? What if a woman was giving birth, somebody had a heart attack or a fire started?

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

 

 

[Tom Sutton]

Article 14 (b) of The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states in the event of danger, it must be possible for persons to evacuate the premises as quickly and as safely as possible, so if a dangerous event should occur then the Responsible Person would be guilty of an offence under the order and it would be up to the Fire and Rescue Service to prosecute him/her.

However if the occupants are not in danger, then the RP is not guilty  of an offence however the RP should be informed so he/she should formulate a procedure to rectify the situation for the future.